When I chaired the Constitution Committee in the Lords, one of our major reports was on Parliament and the Legislative Process. Later this year will mark the tenth anniversary of its publication. We examined the whole legislative process, including pre- and post-legislative scrutiny. We were keen not only to see pre-legislative scrutiny (examining Bills in draft)…
After Parliament has passed a Bill, it receives Royal Assent and becomes an Act of Parliament. Provisions of an Act take effect upon Royal Assent unless provided otherwise. In practice, it is common to provide otherwise, with ministers being empowered by order to make commencement orders, stipulating the date on which the provisions, or particular…
In a previous post, I was asked if I could provide a link to a particular Bill, in this case the Justice and Security Bill. Anyone wishing to access a Bill being considered by Parliament can do so by visiting the Parliament website and clicking on the link ‘Bills and legislation’. You can then click on…
I have just become a member of this Committee and attended my first meeting last week. The title makes it sound very dry and boring. In fact it isn’t and it performs an important Parliamentary function. Acts of Parliament are primary legislation. Ministers are given delegated powers by Parliament to avoid every detail being spelt…
